These crunchy baked chicken tenders are life changing! The secret to truly golden, truly crunchy baked breaded chicken is to toast the breadcrumbs in the oven first. Bonus: No dirty fingers with my quick crumbing technique!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Really crunchy Baked Chicken Tenders
There is no feel-good story behind these crunchy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders. Quite simply, I am yet to meet anything deep fried that I didn’t love, but a) my waistline can’t afford the real thing every time I feel like it; and b) I reserve deep frying for “special occasions”. Because… well, you know.
Mess, oil wastage, gluey fingers.
Waistline. Bottom expansion.
Etc etc.
It also irritated me no end that the breadcrumbs always came out splotchy, no matter how much oil I used.
So this is how I make baked crumbed chicken.
Baked breaded chicken – my way
Toast the breadcrumbs in the oven for just a few minutes. This is the path to truly golden, truly crunchy baked breaded chicken even with a short bake time (max 20 minutes for chicken tenders). PS Much MUCH easier than pan frying!
One dredge batter – the usual process for crumbing is flour then egg then breadcrumbs. For this quick ‘n easy recipe, I combine the egg with flour plus mustard and mayo for flavour + oil (attempt to replicate deep fried) to make a thick batter in which the chicken is dredged. This stuff is great glue for the breadcrumbs!
Clean fingers! Use tongs to transfer the batter slathered chicken into the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over breadcrumbs to cover, press down to adhere. Transfer to tray. Marvel at clean fingers!!
Give it a light spray of oil, bake for 15 minutes and voila! This is what you get:
LOOK HOW GOLDEN THEY ARE!! Just imagine that crunch when you bite into the juicy chicken inside!
Dipping Sauces
It’s pictured above with a Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce. Just like Maccers. Only homemade. 🙂
Other Dipping Sauces: Try the Pink Steak Sauce from the Beef Kebabs, Sweet and Sour Sauce, Thousand Island, Tartare or even a classic Seafood Cocktail Sauce.
– Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Tenders
Ingredients
Breadcrumb
- 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs (Note 1)
- Oil spray
Batter
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard (or other mustard)
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Black pepper
Chicken
- 500 g/1 lb chicken tenderloins (or breast cut into 2/3″ / 1.5cm thick slices, lengthwise)
- Oil spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180° fan-forced).
- Toast panko – Spread panko on a baking tray, spray with oil (spray vertically to avoid blowing the panko off the tray), then bake for 3 to 5 minutes until light golden. Transfer to bowl.
- Place a rack on a baking tray (not critical but bakes more evenly).
- Dredge batter – Place the Batter ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork until combined. Add the chicken into the Batter and toss to coat.
Crumbing (see video & photo in post)
- Pick up chicken with tongs and place it into the panko bowl.
- Crumb – Sprinkle surface with breadcrumbs, then press down to adhere. Transfer onto baking tray. Marvel at clean fingers, repeat with remaining chicken.
- Spray & bake – Spray lightly with oil, sprinkle with a touch of salt (optional). Bake 15 minutes (medium) or up to 20 minutes if gigantic. Any longer = dried out chicken.
- Serve – Remove from oven and serve immediately, with Sauce of choice (Honey Mustard pictured, see Note 2) and sprinkled with fresh parsley, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published April 2015, updated with new photos, video, words in post. No change to recipe, though some minor writing tidying up has been done.
More crunchy crumbed chicken
A crunchy golden crumb takes any chicken from bland to delicious!
LIFE OF DOZER
That hopeful sparkle in his eyes…. (it was false hope) (Oh wait, I lied. I gave him a bite!)
Is there a sub for the mustard? I would love to try these but everyone in our household hates mustard…
You nailed it!
Hi Amber, it’s not overpowering but you can just leave it out if you prefer. N x
I really want to make this tonight but I don’t have spray oil. Is it really needed or can I substitute it with something else?
You can drizzle oil through the toasted breadcrumbs, that will work. Use your fingers to mix through for best coverage using less oil. Spray is the best for even coverage, that’s all 🙂 Don’t skip the oil, less the crumbs won’t go nice and golden, they are splotchy and pale!
Easy. Tasty. SO crunchy. And the honey mustard sauce is incredible! No leftovers with this amazing dish!
Holy wow!!! Total game changer to toast the panko and do the “base” nice and thick! Definitely the best breaded chicken I have ever made!
So easy to make. Loved it
No mess and so tasty!
This was a great base recipe with helpful tips! I will say I deliberately made softer tenders (still crispy, just mom has trouble with truly crunchy foods). I also marinated the chicken the night before in buttermilk + hot sauce. The toasted panko is great, and gets you the right color normally absent from baked tenders.
Served with a wedge salad with tomato, homemade blue cheese, and crispy onions.
These are amazing! I’ve tried with both whole wheat and gluten free Panko, and it’s perfect either way! My boyfriend and I always make this when we want a dinner that’s quick and easy but still fun to throw together. Tonight we made them (for the 3rd time!) and used them as the chicken for chicken and waffles!! So good!
Can I freeze them if I make a big batch? Freeze them raw or cooked….please advice..Thank you
Hey N these tasted delicious and crunchy i just really struggle getting the right cooking times. I made chicken breast and I cut into it to eat and it was still pink inside everywhere after cooking for 20mins. I sliced them in half as well like suggested. I had to put them in the oven for a good 10-15 more mins. Can you give me some tips on this? I just purchased a new digital meat thermometer as well.
Hi Jay, were they large in size/thickness? N x
They were long but thick no
My very fussy 6yr old granddaughter adores these. So easy and sooo delicious.
Hi,
I just wanted to ask can I serve this with mushroom sauce, mash potatoes and steamed veggies?
You can serve it with anything Jay! That combo sounds amazing!! N x
This recipe is spot on…delicious results! No double-dipping, the single batter is great and key to crispy is the tip to prebake the panko crumbs. Replaced the mayo w/ greek yogurt as suggested and added hot sauce to the batter for some zip. Outcome – ‘more please!”
This recipe is spot on…pre-baking the panko crumbs has made all the difference. They come out crisp & juicy tender. Have subbed greek yogurt for the mayo without any taste difference & do add a bit of hot sauce for zip. VERY GOOD & easy to make!
Hi Nagi, the recipe looks awesome ! Do you have any suggestions on what to replace the egg with? (I saw that you have already recommended yoghurt as a replacement for mayo). One of my kids is allergic to egg so would like to know if you have any suggested substitutions. Thanks!
Maybe this?
https://www.statesman.com/story/lifestyle/food/2020/06/26/make-your-own-vegan-butter-thatrsquos-as-good-as-real-thing/113732614/
These were so delicious!! We used them in wraps, and they were perfect – crispy and flavorful. I will definitely be making these again!
Finally! I can get a crispy, crunchy coating on a baked chicken tender! Excellent and pairs so well with Arugula in a simple lemon vinaigrette Parmesan dressing. Many thanks!
I’ve made this recipe several times now, where its always great. I’ve also used this recipe to make baked cod by substituting cod for the chicken that I was happy with.
The honey mustard sauce is good made with either lime or lemon juice, where it is so good that I haven’t ever gone on to make any of the other sauces to eat with the chicken strips.
Roasted Brussel sprouts and asparagus are good to eat with this and with the honey mustard sauce. I sometimes pair them with a stuffed mushroom and eat all of them with the honey mustard sauce.
I make the panko crumbs with butter.
I want to try the same recipe with fish…will it turn out good? Have tried it with chicken and it turned out awesome..
Love this recipe!! We have made it countless times, but beware on the panko amount. We always have to make double the amount of panko that the recipe calls for